Jerry was born in Akron, OH in 1953. He began playing the steel guitar at the age of six on a Fender deluxe 6 string. At the age of twelve, Jerry began playing during the summers at Ponderosa Park, a 12,000 seat outdoor facility located in Salem Ohio. The park provided a venue for major country music acts to perform during the mid to late 60s. It was there that John Hughey, then touring with Conway Twitty, Bob Hempker, who traveled with Loretta Lynn, Don Helms with Hank Williams Jr., and Buddy Charlelton with Ernest Tubbs and the Texas Troubadours first heard Jerry. Jerry was also influenced by Pure Prairie League, and Poco. Needless to say, Jerry was exposed to many of the great all time players and singers, and was being recognized for the talent he possessed.
In Oct. of 1968, at the age of 14, Jerry was asked to join the staff band at The Wheeling Jamboree in Wheeling, W. Va. This venue, which was second only to the Grand Ole Opry in length of broadcast, was broadcast live and covered 23 states and 6 Canadian providences. More than a 1/4 of million radio listeners (*Arbitron) tuned in to listen to each show . Jerry's playing was now beginning to branch out to many more fans. His exposure to the major country acts was now occurring every Saturday night as each major artist visited.
Jerry was a guest of the late Shot Jackson at his home in Nashville in 1969. It was Demons Den, a popular nightspot where Jerry first heard Doug Jernigan and the late, Julian Thorpe. Jerry also met Paul Franklin during this visit and became friends. Jerry's head was filled with so many licks, he didn't know where to begin on the plane ride home. It was also there when Jerry met Buddy Emmons for the first time.
In April of 1972, at the age of 18, someone would change his musical life forever. The following day of the Saturday radio broadcast, a phone call went something like this: "Long Distance Operator calling for Mr. Jerry Brightman from Mr. Buck Owens". After a one-week visit consisting mostly of recording in Bucks studio, Jerry was asked to become a Buckaroo.
Jerry's performances and recordings with Buck Owens, Don Rich, Susan Raye, Tony Booth, Arlo Guthrie, along with the other members of the Buckaroos, afforded him a chance to travel nearly a million air flight miles per year while touring. Jerry was also signed to a Capitol records contract and appeared as a member of Hee-Haw for CBS during his 3 1/2 years. He recorded 16 albums with Buck. Jerry was now being seen and heard all over the world.
Among some of the most memorable venues were:
The Sydney Opera House, Australia;
The Houston Astro Dome, Houston, TX
Panther Hall, Fort Worth, TX
Tokyo, Japan, Lee Gardens, Hong Kong Madison Square Gardens, NY, NY
The Grand Ole Opry Radio broadcast (Ryman Auditorium) Nashville, TN
Red Rocks Amphitheatre, Denver, CO
Grand Opening of Disney World, FL.
The LA Forum, LA, CA
During the two scheduled tapings of Hee-Haw each year, Jerry would be seen playing out in Nashville at favorite nightspots. Jerry played in addition to steel guitar, slide guitar, electric and acoustic guitar, dobro, banjo, bass, drums, harmonica, in addition to vocals.
In 1974, tragedy struck the Owens organization with the sudden death of Don Rich. Jerry, among the other current Buckaroos were pall-bearers at the funeral. It was a sad day for anyone and everyone who had ever come in contact with Don. Jerry continued playing steel and added electric guitar duties with the band until 1975, when he resigned from his position. Jerry returned to perform one more series of shows in 1976 on Hee-Haw. After these tapings, Jerry set the bar down, with no intensions of ever picking it up again professionally, and it stayed that way for 23 years. Although Jerry didn't realize it at the time, he had promoted steel guitar into the homes of millions by appearing weekly on the show.
